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- Center City (Area A)
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- Lower North Philadelphia (Area E)
- Upper North Philadelphia (Area F)
- Bridesburg/Kensington/Richmond (Area G)
- Roxborough/Manayunk (Area H)
- Germantown/Chestnut Hill (Area I)
- Olney/Oak Lane (Area J)
- Near Northeast (Area K)
- Far Northeast (Area L)
Frequently Asked Questions
• What is GreenPlan Philadelphia?
• How is ‘open space’ defined?
• Why is GreenPlan Philadelphia necessary?
• What will GreenPlan Philadelphia accomplish?
• Who is leading the planning process?
• Who is funding the planning process?
• What is the timeframe for the planning process?
• What about existing neighborhood plans and projects?
• How will GreenPlan Philadelphia impact existing open-space projects?
• How do projects “qualify” as early-action or demonstration GreenPlan projects?
• What is the role of participants in the future?
• Who will be in charge of the plan when it is finished?
• How will the plan’s implementation be funded?
• How will GreenPlan Philadelphia's recommendations inform the city’s budget?
• How will the new spaces be maintained?
• How will GreenPlan Philadelphia impact zoning and land-use regulations?
• How will this plan create incentives for developers?
• How will this plan address the negative impact of blighted vacant land?
• How will this plan set optimal standards to create green spaces for a variety of uses?
• How is this plan different from the Fairmount Park strategic plan?
• Who should be contacted for questions and updates?
What is GreenPlan Philadelphia?
GreenPlan Philadelphia, the city’s blueprint for sustainable open space, is Philadelphia’s first comprehensive plan for its parks, recreation areas, and open space. GreenPlan Philadelphia will guide and inform decision-making about open space use, acquisition, development, funding, and management. It will ensure that open space continues to enhance the environmental, social, and economic well-being of our city.
How is ‘open space’ defined?
Philadelphia’s open space includes a variety of places that support and promote recreation, preserve and enhance our natural environment, and provide visual and aesthetic relief from our built-up city environment:
- Neighborhood and regional parks;
- Community gardens;
- Public landscapes and plazas;
- Streetscapes and gateways;
- Playgrounds, ball fields, and recreation centers;
- Riverfronts and other areas near water;
- Woodlands, trails, and other natural areas;
- Wetlands and floodplains;
- Other private and public land used for passive or active recreation (e.g., cemetery or institutional campus); and
- Abandoned land that can be reused as open space to meet the needs of our changing communities.
Why is GreenPlan Philadelphia necessary?
Philadelphia does not have a comprehensive open space plan. Demographics and land use have changed drastically over the past few decades. An open space plan—informed by public input—will ensure that our city’s diverse neighborhoods have parks, recreation sites, and open space suitable for current and future needs. In addition, having an up-to-date, comprehensive open space plan will make it easier to secure non-city funding for open space projects.
What will GreenPlan Philadelphia accomplish?
GreenPlan Philadelphia will be a comprehensive plan for effective management of all existing and future open space in the city. It will include:
- An inventory of the city’s natural resources;
- Funding strategies for the plan’s implementation;
- Assessment of the costs and benefits of quality open space; and
- Evaluation tools to measure the successful implementation of the plan.
GreenPlan Philadelphia will help Philadelphia:
- Increase collaboration with community leaders;
- Meet environmental regulations;
- Implement open space projects;
- Support programs that promote the health and quality-of-life benefits of open space;
- Integrate and adopt the plan’s recommendations into the missions of city agencies; and
- Secure funding for open space projects.
Who is leading the planning process?
The City of Philadelphia, through its Managing Director’s Office, is leading the process, with the assistance, expertise, and support of a variety of other city agencies including:
- Capital Program Office
- City Planning Commission
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Human Services
- Department of Public Health
- Department of Recreation
- Department of Streets
- Fairmount Park Commission
- Mayor’s Office of Community Services
- Neighborhood Transformation Initiative/Empowerment Zone
- Office of Housing and Community Development
- Police Department
- Water Department
The following non-city project partners are also contributing substantially to the project:
- City Parks Association
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
- Keystone Conservation Trust
- PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
- Pennsylvania Environmental Council
- Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
- Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations
- School District of Philadelphia
- USDA Forest Service
- City Parks Alliance
- US Environmental Protection Agency
Who is funding the planning process?
Principal funding for GreenPlan Philadelphia comes from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Additional resources from the City of Philadelphia and the William Penn Foundation support this effort. Project partners provide in-kind support and services.
What is the timeframe for the planning process?
The plan will be complete by December 2007. However, early-action or demonstration projects related to the plan will begin implementation during the planning process.
What about existing neighborhood plans and projects?
Community plans that are relevant to open space are being reviewed, documented, and incorporated into the planning process. Recommendations from these plans will provide a foundation for planning, prioritization, and implementation in each neighborhood, some as early-action projects.
How will GreenPlan Philadelphia impact existing open-space projects, those already “on the boards?”
This planning effort has catalogued about 200 open-space plans and projects throughout the city, which have already been planned, proposed, or are nearly ready for implementation. GreenPlan Philadelphia intends to capture this important work and incorporate it into the plan’s recommendations, as appropriate. In fact, some projects will meet criteria enabling them to advance as GreenPlan Philadelphia early-action projects.
How do projects “qualify” as early-action or demonstration GreenPlan Philadelphia projects?
Projects must meet several “threshold requirements” (e.g., majority of project funding committed, groundbreaking possible before end of 2007) as well as other criteria, including public benefit, economic impact, and sustainability/environmental resources.
What is the role of participants in the future?
The GreenPlan report will include an implementation strategy and a list of prioritized projects. The Plan will identify the best entity to manage a particular project, choosing from participating city agencies and partners, in partnership with a neighborhood organization or representative.
Who will be in charge of the plan when it is finished?
The Managing Director will appoint a project leader to oversee implementation of the plan. A cabinet-level advisory committee with representatives of city agencies and partner organizations will guide the project leader.
How will the plan’s implementation be funded?
Recommendations for physical improvements, “built projects,” will be funded through the city’s capital budget, as appropriate. In addition, components of built projects that require ongoing maintenance will receive operating funding in the budget of the appropriate city departments. A plan as comprehensive and visionary as GreenPlan Philadelphia may require 15 years or so to be fully implemented. The city and its partners will also actively pursue funding from public and private foundations as well as state and federal agencies, by leveraging the capital and operating commitments made by the city.
How will GreenPlan Philadelphia's recommendations inform the city’s annual capital budget and five-year capital program?
Each “built project” recommended in the plan will have a capital cost associated with it, and a multi-year capital program for all GreenPlan Philadelphia recommendations will be prepared. The plan will also identify the appropriate entity for carrying out each recommendation, and when that entity is a city department or agency, the capital costs will be assigned to it. City departments and agencies will incorporate the recommended projects into their own capital-budget and program requests, which are vetted by the City Planning Commission, Capital Program Office, and Office of Budget and Program Evaluation as part of preparing the city’s capital budget and program in the fall of each year.
How will the new spaces be maintained?
The City of Philadelphia will support the ongoing care and maintenance of newly created open spaces in the following ways:
- Integrate basic maintenance into the operations of the appropriate city agency and enhance city services where needed to ensure ongoing care of new spaces;
- Seek out strong public/private partnerships;
- When new spaces are created or projects constructed based upon community priorities, encourage community-based management strategies so that neighborhoods embrace these projects as their own; and
- Build capacity of community groups in maintenance practices through partnerships with non profit greening organizations.
How will GreenPlan Philadelphia impact zoning and other land-use and development regulations in order to support existing and new open space needs?
Zoning and other land-use controls and regulations will serve as implementation tools for GreenPlan Philadelphia. Depending on the plan’s recommendations, the zoning code could be amended to require public open space as part of private development, improve access to waterfronts, and preserve critical natural areas, for example.
How will this plan create incentives for developers to incorporate quality open space into their developments?
Specific recommendations like this will be worked out as implementation tools are developed, which will occur later in the planning process.
How will this plan address the negative impact of blighted vacant land in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and address issues of delinquent ownership?
Reclaiming vacant land for public open space use, where appropriate, is a major goal of this plan. Philadelphia is in a unique position to make positive use of vacant land to connect existing and proposed open space or to provide suitable park space in a community where warranted, for example. GreenPlan Philadelphia will establish criteria to evaluate vacant land for its suitability as public open space, and will delineate the steps necessary for acquisition, transformation, and management.
How will this plan set optimal standards to create green spaces for a variety of uses? How will the plan incorporate best practices in open space design, management, and stewardship?
Research about best practices in other major cities is an integral part of the GreenPlan Philadelphia planning process. The planning team will base some of the plan’s recommendations on this research, including the use of “industry standards” for the type, quantity, and location of open-space resources.
How is this plan different from the Fairmount Park strategic plan?
GreenPlan Philadelphia is a comprehensive plan dealing with parks, recreation sites, and open space—across a variety of public agencies and organizations—and the provision of open space resources and facilities to meet current and future needs in our city. It is much broader in scope than the Fairmount Park Strategic Plan, which focused exclusively on Fairmount Park Commission properties and their management, financing, and operations. GreenPlan will evaluate open space using both traditional benchmarks such as the value of parks and recreational amenities, in addition to non-traditional parameters for defining important open space, such as stormwater management and flood control capability, direct effect on public health, and economic development.
How can residents be involved? Many ways!
- Look around this project website. – www.greenplanphiladelphia.com
- Attend neighborhood meetings and other public meetings as advertised.
- Volunteer to assist with neighborhood meetings.
- Share your thoughts via the website, or write to the planning team at info@greenplanphiladelphia.com.
- Let us know about projects you are aware of that may not have already been identified by the GreenPlan team.
Who should be contacted for questions and updates?
GreenPlan Philadelphia
Office of the Managing Director, City of Philadelphia
1430 Municipal Services Building
1401 John F. Kennedy Boulevard
Philadelphia PA 19102
215-686-1428
info@greenplanphiladelphia.com
Find Your Neighborhood
Green Plan Philadelphia is funded by: The City of Philadelphia, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, The William Penn Foundation
Office of the Managing Director, City of Philadelphia · info@greenplanphiladelphia.com · 215.686.1428